Seventeen Minutes
by icyfire17
Summary: Inuyasha, a skilled doctor working in a hospital, loses a dear patient because of his careless mistake. He becomes depressed until he meets Kagome, a cheerful girl dying of leukemia. Inuyasha has never met a person like Kagome. She slips through his barriers, while he feels something strange stirring in his heart. His heart longs to love, but can he bear losing another dear one?
1. Chapter 1

Lei: Yo! So, I just want to put in a quick word before you guys jump into the story. Although Inuyasha is clearly really rough and tough in the anime, I'm portraying him in a more...domesticated manner? You'll still see the demonic sides of him *wink* but he's not the fighter in the story.

Kagome: Thank goodness! I'm so tired of seeing him brag about his macho-ness -_-"

Inuyasha: Good thing she doesn't own us, so I don't have to be so tame *smirk*

Kagome: O.o Down, boy.

**~Seventeen Minutes~**

_Beep. Beep...Beep..._

Silence.

A hand grasped the young girl's frail hand tightly, as if trying to will the body back to life. "Kikyo! Stay with me! Hang in there!" A man with panicked golden eyes shot a quick look at the heart monitor, which told him that no progress was being made. He reached over to flip on the defibrillators, which let out a low hum that resonated in the sepulchral room.

He counted to three in his head and slammed the defibrillators down on her upper abdomen and chest. He felt the power go straight through her body, like an echo in a dark tunnel. Golden eyes locked onto the girl's face, pleading for her to wake. But the girl's deathly pale face did not stir. Knowing that it was futile, but unwilling to give up, he repeatedly slammed the defibrillators down on her chest for two minutes without success, until he finally gave up.

The man stepped back and lowered his arms, his head hanging in grief. She was gone. Unwanted tears sprung in his eyes just as another doctor entered the room. The doctor took one look at the grieving man's position before flicking the power switch for the defibrillators off. The golden eyed man did not move.

The doctor pulled on his short ponytail as he sucked in a timid breath before moving to stand before him, blocking the man's view of the corpse. "Inuyasha, are you okay?"

The golden-eyed doctor wiped his eyes as he pushed his long silver hair out of his face and faced his companion squarely in the face, "Kikyo Miko died on November 15 at 2:45 am. Record that in the books and make sure it's added on her death certificate." He made a move towards the door, but the doctor stood in his way.

"Inuyasha, I hate to tell you this, but you know the procedure. As her doctor, you must talk with the parents and-"

Inuyasha's eyes flashed. "I don't fucking care about the procedure. Get someone else to tell her parents what happened. It doesn't have to be me. You can tell her parents yourself, Miroku. You saw the whole thing through the glass screen, didn't you?" Before Miroku had a chance to answer, Inuyasha pushed him aside and was out the door.

Miroku sighed as he heard the door slam and looked forlornly at the beautiful girl's body. He made his way over to pick up the small piece of cloth sitting on her bedside table and laid it over Kikyo's face. As the only other doctor who witnessed the death, Miroku grabbed the pen lying on the table and filled out the death certificate.

"Oh, Kikyo," Miroku exhaled wearily, "Why did you have to go and break Inuyasha's heart?"

###

Inuyasha didn't know where he was. The rain pelted onto his white lab coat as he ran as fast as he could. Blurs of black and grey enveloped him as he flew through the crowded streets dotted with umbrellas. _What am I doing? _He thought to himself as he stopped at a convenient store and caught his breath. _I'm acting like an idiotic coward_.

His thoughts strayed to the girl on the deathbed. Her death was all his fault. His perfect record was stained by the bleak mark of death. If he hadn't attempted to use the medicine, she might have still been alive. And they might not have split up. He recalled the memory of their last argument.

"_If you love Rin so much, you should just stop coming here and leave me to die!" Kikyo screamed at Inuyasha with a hateful glare. She lay on her bed at the hospital, donned in white hospital clothes and injected with plenty of IVs.  
_

_ "You know that Rin is my brother's wife! I can't let her die either!" Inuyasha protested hotly. Kikyo became jealous very easily for a sickly woman who was too weak to stand.  
_

_"Either?" Kikyo's voice became quiet, "Ha, what a joke. That medicine you tricked me into drinking has given me more pain than relief. You lied to me. You said that I would get better and that we could start a life together after I was cured." She stopped and coughed violently, her chest heaving hard with the effort. She composed herself before Inuyasha could offer his help, and said with contempt, "Dr. Naraku was right to keep you from giving me that poison."  
_  
_ Inuyasha was at a loss for words. Her words stung, but she was right. The medicine he had given her had been put away in the cabinets for a reason, but he was so desperate that he pleaded the Head of the Medical Department, Kaede to let him use it on Kikyo. His long-time enemy _had _given Inuyasha "advice" to not give Kikyo the medicine, but since Naraku usually spouted ideas with malicious intent, Inuyasha had chosen to ignore him.  
_

_Kikyo laughed bitterly at his quietness, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter anyways. You never cared about my life in the first place. I was just an experiment to you, nothing more."_

_I was just an experiment to you, nothing more._

Those words haunted him for many sleepless nights and continued to be the source of his guilt even after she had left the world. At first, he was angry at Kikyo for thinking such absurd thoughts, but after mulling over it, he became afraid. Afraid that she was right. Inuyasha greatly regretted letting his better judgment slip and allowing her to drink the medicine. He would never be that dangerously desperate again; he would make sure of that.

He passed the aisles of snacks and drinks before coming to a stop at the ice cream mini-freezer. As he reached his hand in to get his favorite popsicle, another pale hand extended out and bumped into his.

"Oh, sorry!" Inuyasha turned to come face-to-face with a pretty raven-haired woman. At first glance, Inuyasha had to blink his eyes a few times before his eyes came to terms with his brain. It looked as though the short woman in jeans and a t-shirt was Kikyo for a second, and Inuyasha's heart lurched with pain as the thought faded and reality set in. _She's dead, _Inuyasha told himself firmly.

She smiled apologetically at him before grabbing the last of the popsicles that Inuyasha had wanted and turning to go and line up at the cash register. Her back faced Inuyasha, and he couldn't help but noticing that the figures of both women were also very similar. He thought about going up and asking if she knew Kikyo, when he realized that he had no treat in his hand.

"Hey!" He whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at the girl, "You stole my popsicle!"

The girl glanced back at him once, wavy hair cascading over her face, before replying in a nonchalant tone, "It's my popsicle now, buddy. There's plenty of other popsicles in the freezer, anyways."

Inuyasha couldn't believe she was treating him like that after she bumped into him. He was about to make a retort when she suddenly dropped the treat and started coughing violently. And VERY loudly. Inuyasha stared in horror as her back arched in painful-looking ways and drops of red spurted out of her mouth with each heave. Just as he was about to approach her, she dropped down on the ground heavily and did not move.

Years of medical training kicked in as he swept past the growing crowd, saying, "I'm a doctor, please let me through." He checked for signs of a pulse on her neck and wrist and found none. He grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and hit speed dial.

"_Hello?"_

"Miroku? Get an ambulance now on New City Avenue at the small convenient store. There's a girl who fell unconscious while coughing. I didn't find a pulse. Hurry." Inuyasha ended the call before Miroku could get another word in.

Inuyasha worriedly checked her pulse again, only to come up with the same results. "Dammit." He gritted his teeth as he picked her up and carried her bridal style out of the convenient store, earning gasps from the crowd. He searched for a place that was out of the rain to place her and laid her down to start performing CPR. For some reason, looking at her soft lips made him blush, and he froze for a second before kicking himself internally for hesitating. _This isn't the first time you've performed CPR on a woman. Get a grip on yourself, Inuyasha. _Without wasting any more time, he slammed his mouth onto her lips and began to pump air into her body. After a minute of this, her VERY faint pulse returned, but her breathing was shallow and Inuyasha was afraid that she would lose consciousness again. He frantically scanned the streets for any ambulances and kept his ears open for sirens. "Dammit, Miroku. Hurry up and get your ass down here."

Just then, his sensitive ears picked up the noise of sirens, and he turned to be met with the awaited ambulance. Breathing a sigh of relief, Inuyasha scooped the woman into his arms and lay her down on the stretcher being brought out by Miroku. He didn't know why, but his heart seemed to be heavy with despair and worry as he watched her being wheeled away.

"You okay, man?" Miroku placed a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and gave his friend a concerned look. "You look pretty pale."

Not tearing his eyes away from the woman, Inuyasha heard himself mutter a "Fine." before clamoring up the ambulance to go sit next to her. He didn't know why he was so concerned with this unknown woman's safety, especially since she stole his ice cream, but he filed away those thoughts for later pondering.

Miroku sat down beside him and watched with wide eyes as Inuyasha sat next to the woman with angst clear in his body language. Inuyasha wasn't exactly known as the most heart-warming and comforting doctor, so as the doctor watched Inuyasha frantically check the pulse every five minutes, he couldn't help but wonder about Inuyasha's motives, not knowing that Inuyasha was wondering the exact same thing. Glancing at the clothes the woman wore, it was clear that Inuyasha wasn't there for the money. So what was the motive? Why was Inuyasha acting this way? Was she a relative of some sort? Stumped, Miroku abandoned his thoughts and began to work on keeping the woman alive, as the Emergency Medical Technician in charge.

Once the ambulance arrived at the hospital, the woman was immediately taken into the Emergency Room and was hooked up to many machines. Inuyasha left her in the care of Miroku and others as he walked over to the front desk to sign the woman in.

"Hello, Dr. Takahashi. What happened to that young woman?" The woman at the front desk bowed to Inuyasha slightly before grabbing a pen and whipping out a clipboard to record the notes.

Inuyasha nodded in greetings before replying, "She was in a convenient store when she suddenly started coughing up blood. I was about to help her, but she collapsed before I could reach her. I couldn't find any signs of a pulse, so I took her outside to get her some fresh air and performed CPR on her. It took one minute, but she began to breathe again, albeit very faintly. However, she never regained full consciousness after her collapse."

The woman's pen was scribbling at top speed as she took down every word. "How was she acting before the collapse? Any signs that she was going to blackout?"

He shook his head, "No, she was acting normally."

"Do you know her name? Or any personal information I can put down?"

Tiredly, he shook his head again, "No, she didn't have her ID on her, sorry. Can you just get it in the morning?"

"Yes, that'll be no problem." She finished up her last sentence, "Okay, thank you very much, Dr. Takahashi."

"You too, Sango." He made a move to his office, tired from his latest rescue, when Sango halted him.

"Oh, sorry to bother you again, but who should I put down for her doctor? No offense meant, but you're already taking on twenty patients who are all quite difficult cases. Maybe Dr. Ookami would be best? Or perhaps Dr. Suikotsu?"

Inuyasha paused before saying, "No, just give her to me. I can handle her better than the other two can. Besides, I was there when the incident occurred. Place her in my charge. I'll take a look at her tomorrow. Notify me immediately if there are any changes." He walked away, heading towards his office to give his body a reprieve.

Sango bowed to his retreating back, "As you wish, Dr. Takahashi."

Inuyasha punched in the number lock for his office and stepped into his room, glad for the comfort of his black leather couch and the familiar smell of citrus to welcome him back. He lay down on the couch and breathed in deeply; losing a dear beloved and saving a new patient in one day was something he was not used to, and his body cried for rest.

As he sank into the warm embrace of Morpheus, his mind couldn't help but conjuring one more question for him to ponder over.

_Who was that woman?_

Lei: What did you think?

Inuyasha: I'm acting like a lovesick fool, even though I don't even know her!

Kagome: *grins* 'Cuz no one can resist my charm.

Lei: Big thank you to my best friend who edited _Seventeen Minutes_! Please review and tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

Lei: Yo! T^T I am so sorry for not updating sooner! I was busy with a lot of activities and family these past few weeks, so I couldn't find the time to write a new chapter.

Inuyasha: *suspicious look* Are you sure you weren't just lazy?

Lei: O.o" No…

Kagome: Uh huh, right.

Lei: Anyways, as part of my apology, I've written an extra long chapter for you all to enjoy. Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed and alerted this story! They all served as encouragement for me.

Inuyasha: Ugh, enough with the mushy talk. Get on with it!

Kagome: Lei does not own Inuyasha or any of the other characters!

Inuyasha: Thank goodness…

**~Seventeen Minutes~**

_White walls? A...flower vase? Snoring? Where am I? _A raven-haired woman sat up in her bed as she scanned her surroundings with confusion plain on her face. White walls enclosed a curtained space filled with snoring old people about seventy or eighty years old. Beside her was a small desk with a blue flower vase on top and her wallet. _A hospital, _she realized.

What was she doing here? The last thing she remembered was talking to some odd man about...popsicles? The woman groaned as she realized what must've taken place. This was her third warning sign in two weeks; she couldn't deny the fact that her nightmare was coming back. Glancing around again, she came to the conclusion that someone nearby must've taken initiative and called an ambulance. She'd have to thank that person once she found out who it was.

A door slid open, the rough handling of the opener causing a squeak that brought pain to the woman's ears. She cringed as she turned to see who entered the room, and was surprised to see a familiar looking silver-haired, dog-eared man at the doorway. _Why do I feel like I've seen him before? _The woman just couldn't put her finger on where she could've seen him.

Gold met hazel as they scrutinized each other from the tops of their head to the soles of their feet. The doctor broke the gaze as he stepped forward and stretched out a hand, "Hello. My name is Dr. Takahashi, and I will be taking care of you during your stay here." His voice was rough and boyish, but controlled, as though he had been training how to keep in his thoughts from being expressed.

She surprised him by snorting, "Geez, what is this place, a hotel? You sound like a butler or something! Lighten up!" Punching him gently on the arm, she grinned, "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need to be admitted to some hospital just because I fainted."

Inuyasha was shocked, but kept his face blank as he said firmly, "No, I was there when you passed out, and if you didn't look like you needed treatment, I wouldn't have bothered taking you to this hospital. Now please lie back down, so I can get started on your examination, Ms..."

"What do you mean, you were ther- Oh! I remember now!" She looked away as she snapped her fingers, ignoring his question, "You were the whiny guy who complained about losing a popsicle!"

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, "Yes, well, this whiny guy had to drag your ass up to the hospital to make sure that you were okay. If it wasn't for me, you might've been in the hands of someone less fit and might not have even survived." She might've been intriguing, but the only thing about her that kept him talking now was the fact that she was his patient. And that fact was starting to look like it might be changing soon.

She put her hands up to show the universal sign for _Woah, don't get all mass-murder on me! _"Okay, sorry about that!" She gave an embarrassed smile and locked her eyes onto his, "People tell me to be more careful of what I say, but it's like my brain and mouth are running on one freeway, and there are no toll stations to stop them." She suddenly grew stronger and her eyes burned with determination, "But then again, who needs a toll station? Ideas shouldn't be stopped at some checkpoint for sanity!" She paused and quickly nodded, having apparently decided something in her mind, "You know what, I'll let you run those scans on me. I'm tired of running away from something that is inevitable." Again, she hesitated before adding, "But don't be too surprised when you see why I am here."

Inuyasha found himself mesmerized by her little metaphoric confession and her hazel orbs just seemed to turn his insides into melted gold. _Ugh, what am I doing? _He berated himself before turning away, breaking the gaze. "I'll be back to check on you, Ms...?" He paused, not knowing how to address her.

"Oh, sorry!" He heard her jump off of the bed, the springs groaning in protest. "My name is Kagome Higurashi! Thanks, Inuyasha!"

He almost reached the door but stopped and placed his hand on the knob. "How do you know my first name?"

He heard her climb back onto the bed, "Oh, it says it on your name tag. Sorry, but "Dr. Takahashi" just sounds too formal, don't you think? I believe that doctors and patients should be close, and so calling you by your first name will help me do that...That IS your name, right? Inuyasha?"

Though she couldn't see it, he made a small smile at her instant panicky reaction to his question. "Yes." Inuyasha slid the door open and stepped outside, letting the doors close slowly on the room in which his new favorite patient was now resting.

As Inuyasha walked through the hallways to his next patient's room, he couldn't stop thinking about her, though why he didn't know. _Kagome, _he thought, _Kagome. It suits her. _Just as he rounded the corner, an unpleasant stench reached his sensitive nose. His face twitched as he recognized the foul odor just seconds before the source appeared in front of him.

"Yes, and though the tumor can be classifi- Oh, hello Inuyasha." Dr. Naraku Onigumo halted with a whole league of interns behind him and smirked as he took notice of Inuyasha's fading grin, "Well, aren't we over Kikyo's death fairly quickly! Found another replacement for your medicine testing, have we? Is she another beauty you coveted?"

For the second time that morning, Inuyasha found himself struggling to get a hold of his flaring temper, "Hello, Naraku. My _patient _is none of your concern, thank you very much. Now, please move out of my way. I need to attend to my other patients instead of deal with you and your prodigious ego."

Naraku's menacing smile never faltered as he stepped aside to make way for Inuyasha, "Go ahead. I don't want to keep you from doing your duties, _Doctor._" His malicious crimson eyes didn't leave Inuyasha's as he and his interns left in the other direction. "As I was saying..."

Inuyasha glared at the floor, fighting to keep control of his true hanyou nature that was not as prone to rational thinking and calm judgment as his doctor persona was. He took a deep breath before readjusting his clipboard with his patient's records and briskly walking towards the nurse station.

"Excuse me," he went up to the young lady at the counter, "Is Head Nurse Sango there?"

The young lady's face of boredom immediately transformed into one of seductiveness. She giggled and blushed before saying in a soft voice, "Yes, I will be right back with her." She disappeared into the file room, still giggling like a lovesick girl. Inuyasha looked at her back with a strange expression, _What's her problem?_

As Inuyasha waited, he took a sheet from the stack on the counter and began to fill out the check-in form for Kagome Higurashi. _Hmm, let's see, Date of check-in: 2/19/12. Date of leave: …... _For some reason, Inuyasha found it hard to put his pen in the box. He glared at the box, frustrated and confused why that was so. _Keh, what the heck! I don't even know when she'll be able to check-out anyways! _He gave an exasperated sigh before continuing to fill out the rest of the form.

"Dr. Takahashi?" Inuyasha looked up from the sheet and saw Sango's worried face, twisted into a frown. "Are you okay?"

Inuyasha masked his frustration with a playful smile, "No need to call me by my title; it's only us two here. Besides," Inuyasha stretched his back slightly to the side, "I'm getting tired of being so stiff." He chuckled grimly, "Before you know it, I'm gonna be a mirror of my damn bastard of a brother."

Sango tsked at him before relaxing her pose, "There's definitely something messed up about you if you think that you'll ever match to Sesshoumaru's perfect cold demeanor. It's like the guy was born in Antarctica or something." She rolled her eyes, "Anyways, I doubt you wanted to disturb me during my very busy schedule to talk about something as stupid as that " Was it just Inuyasha, or was there a gleaming scary glint in her deep brown eyes? " so why are you here?" She concluded with her hands on her hips.

He may be in a higher position than she was, but when she talked to him, he got the message loud and clear: _I'm the boss. _He scratched his head, "Actually, uh, I'm here because I would like you to get a scan and x-ray of one of my patients, Kagome Higurashi you know, the one that was rushed into the hospital yesterday and send it to me by the end of the day. Please."

Sango procured a small notebook from her waist pocket of her white scrubs and scribbled his instructions inside. "Would 3:30 be okay with you? I have to attend a meeting from four to six, so I don't have time to drop by your mailbox before then."

He mentally went over his schedule. He would have a meeting with two patients, fill out some paperwork, do some research...Yup, he could make some room for examining the scans and x-rays. He nodded, "Yeah, that'll be fine. Thank you, Sango."

She granted him a small smile, "Well, I think I'll be getting back to work now." She bowed, as all nurses did before Inuyasha, "Excuse me, Dr. Takahashi."

Inuyasha waved a hand before realizing that he was still holding the clipboard, "Oh, wait just a second, sorry." He hastily tugged off the form and gave it to Sango. "This is an admittance and basic information form for the patient, Kagome Higurashi. There are some unfilled spots left, which I'll take care of later on in the future once everything is decided."

Grasping the paper, she nodded in understanding before bowing again, "If you will excuse me." She walked away towards the nurse station, her long black hair swishing behind her.

Inuyasha gave her back a half-smile before going back towards the direction of the patient wards to check up on his other patients.

Kagome lay on her mattress with her back pressed against the white metal bedpost, her eyes boring into a painting hanging above the window on her right, yet not seeing any of the dull colors. Instead, her head was filled bitter worries and thoughts, completely contrasting her bubbly and cheerful outer personality she had shown a few hours before.

_The poor doctor, _she gave an internal sigh, _He's probably going to freak out when he finds out that the argument he put up was wasted; it's already too late for me. It's too late. _She looked away from the painting and through the window, resting her eyes on the green grass bending in the light breeze. _Well, at least I had a longer life than expected. _She closed her eyes. _I hope Mom and Gramps weren't too worried when I didn't come home last night. Or maybe they thought that I was with Hojo. _Her heart gave a small squeeze at his name, like it always did when Hojo's name was mentioned or in this case, thought.

"Excuse me, Miss?" A hoarse voice croaked amidst the soft snores oscillating in the room. Kagome turned to see an elderly man in his seventies fixing his surprisingly sharp gaze on her. His wispy white hair was bundled into a small ponytail on the upper back of his head, leaving the just the sides of his head above his ear combed back and the rest bald. The bottom half of his face sported a moustache and a beard with curled ends. His eyes practically popped out of his face, his pupils drowned in his black irises.

Kagome found it hard to pull away from his hard, speculating stare, "...Yes? Do you, uh, need something?" She was starting to feel uncomfortable.

The old man held her gaze for a little longer before looking away, relieving Kagome of her self-consciousness. "Hm. I need that cane on the side of my bed. Would you get it for me?" The cane was actually closer to the man than to Kagome, but she immediately jumped up to grab the cane for him.

Kagome wrapped her small hand around the cane and returned it to the old man with a smile. "Here you go, sir."

She began to climb back into her bed when the hoarse voice reached her ears again. "Thank you." She turned back to face him just as he stretched out a trembling pale hand, "My name is Totosai, the Blacksmith. You are?"

Kagome hesitated before taking the hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Totosai. I'm Kagome Higurashi, the...scientist." Usually, she preferred to keep her work private, as many would beg for her assistance once they found out exactly what she did, but she had a feeling that if Totosai had asked for more information, she would've told him anyway.

_Knock. Knock. _The door slid open to reveal a beautiful woman dressed in white scrubs with a clipboard and pen standing in the doorway. Her eyes were a chocolate brown and her long black hair was tied up into a ponytail in the back. Her magenta eye shadow was nearly hidden by her long bangs. Hands on hips, she walked over to Kagome's bed and gave Totosai a frown, "Totosai-san, you know you're not supposed to be walking right now. Or even be out of your bed." The woman took a look at the cane in his hand and jumped to conclusions, "Inuyasha would be very upset if he saw that you weren't trying to make a full recovery, after all of the tiresome work he's had to do for you."

_Inuyasha? My doctor? _Kagome was about to make a remark, but was cut off by Totosai, "Hmph. Fine with me. I told him not to bother trying to help me, anyhow. Besides, I'm sure I made it clear to leave me alone!" With that, he turned on his side, his back facing the woman and Kagome, clearly showing that he was done talking.

The woman stared at him before shaking her head slowly. She turned towards Kagome and smiled gently, "Hello. My name is Sango, and I am the Head Nurse. I believe you are Kagome Higurashi, am I correct?"

Kagome nodded her head slowly, not understanding why such a high-ranked person such as Sango would be coming over just to greet her and lecture Totosai. "Yes, that would be me. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, no, no. I was just told by Dr. Takahashi, your doctor, to get some scans and an x-ray of your body to see what was the cause of your passing out. So, if you would please come with me to the x-ray room, we can quickly get that taken care of, and you can go back to relaxing here." Sango exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not sure if I'm eager to go back to relaxing without a book," Kagome joked, "But I'll follow you to the x-ray room."

Sango smiled, "Great. Please follow me then."

"Alright, please take care. I'll be back tomorrow morning to check to see how that medicine is working for you." Inuyasha slid the door closed to his final patient's ward and headed off towards his office to go and get some other work done.

By his office door, Inuyasha was surprised to see Miroku waiting for him with a stack of papers in his hands. "Hello, Miroku. Is everything alright?"

Miroku nodded, "Yeah, everything is fine. I just need you to look at some documents and sign them, so I can get the treatment for one of the patients in the ER."

"Ah, alright. Just a second, I'll just unlock this," Inuyasha punched in the code for the lock on the door. "And we can talk about the treatment, so I can sign the papers." After the office was unlocked, Inuyasha motioned for Miroku to go in first. "Go ahead."

Miroku sat on one of the chairs facing Inuyasha's desk and laid the stack of papers next to a scan and x-ray also on the desk. "Hey, Inuyasha. You've got a scan and an x-ray of a rather curvaceous lady there. Have you decided to join the club, man?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes before sitting opposite of him behind the desk, "Please. Only you and Bankotsu are in that perverted 'club' of yours." He picked up the scan, remembering that he had asked Sango to take a scan and x-ray of Kagome. He shuddered for a second, not forgetting how scary she had sounded when she thought he had just pulled her out of work for a chat. "Hey, your wife is getting scarier every day. Can't you do something about that?"

"Sango?" Miroku scratched his head, "Ah, well, it's the, er, time of month right now, so just bear with me. It'll only last for a few more days." His tone turned pleading.

Inuyasha sighed before once again turning his gaze to the scan and x-ray, "And the treatment?" He asked, not bothering to make eye contact with Miroku, "What is it?"

As Miroku blabbed on about the treatment, Inuyasha found his attention slipping from him to the scan and x-ray. His golden eyes widened, frantically switching his gaze from the scan and x-ray, not wanting to believe what was obviously the source of Kagome's blackout. Ignoring Miroku's concerned face, Inuyasha quickly dumped some of his medical books on the desk and began flipping through the pages. He inhaled sharply, his hands balling up into a fist as he confirmed what he already knew was true. He just didn't want to believe it.

Inuyasha didn't think. He ran towards the door and yanked it open, running towards the room in which Kagome was now resting, not hearing the protests Miroku yelled out. As Inuyasha ran past the nurse station, Sango watched him with sad eyes, knowing the reason for his sudden escapade. He continued down the hallway until he reached to a stop in front of Kagome's room, panting. His fist opened as he hit the wall beside the door. _No, _he told himself feebly, _No, this can't be happening. I thought the reason was insomnia or an asthma attack, or...something other than this! _He slammed his hand on the wall again, _NO!_

Miroku stared as the end of Inuyasha's scrubs disappeared behind the corner. Curious to see what could've made his friend run away in such panic, he crossed behind the desk to take a look at the scan and x-ray as well as the medical book splayed out on Inuyasha's desk. Even though Miroku wasn't a high-ranked doctor, he knew what his eyes were seeing. His jaws dropped open in shock.

"Leukemia?"

Lei: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review!

Kagome: Yeah, seriously. *sigh* She loves reading them.

Inuyasha: ….Pathetic.

Lei: -_-+ Oh, and I just realized after publishing the last chapter that there was some kind of glitch that caused the bottom half of the chapter to be in Italics, but it really wasn't supposed to be that way! DX I was so upset when I saw it! In case you're wondering, from "Those words haunted him", most of all that should've been in regular font! -_-+


	3. Chapter 3

Inuyasha:...  
Kagome:...  
Lei:...What?  
Inuyasha: How long has it been since you last updated?  
Lei: T^T Sorry! I was really unsatisfied with this chapter when I first wrote it, so I tried to redo it...which took up a lot of time...Sorry! *cringes*  
Kagome: *huffs* You're just lucky that you don't own us.

**~Seventeen Minutes~**

Kagome lay soundly in her bed, allowing the night to embrace her and fill the air with the hoots of owls and the croaks of frogs. A sliver of moonlight escaped through the curtains and fell upon the right side of her face, casting a shadow on her left side. She fidgeted with strands of her hair, a habit she had adapted when she was nervous or worried. _What's going to happen to me, now that he knows? _She wondered before banishing the thought, _He'll just do what all the other doctors before me have done; send me away to another hospital. _Kagome wasn't stupid. She knew that no hospital in her area had the money or equipment to afford an expensive treatment for such a malignant cancer such as the one she had- leukemia.

For some reason, she felt an overwhelming amount of grief at the thought of Inuyasha sending her away and giving up on her. _I just probably hoped that he could do what the others couldn't, _she told herself, _Nothing personal. _But she couldn't ignore the pain in her chest when she imagined Inuyasha's handsome face twisted in fake regret, telling her to go elsewhere. Wait, handsome? Kagome freaked out, _What the heck? He's not _handsome! _...Well, I mean maybe, but I have Hojo, who has a much more handsome face..._Bringing a hand up, she smacked her forehead, _Why am I comparing my doctor's face to my boyfriend's face? Hojo is good to me, and I love him. _Convincing herself that that was the truth, she turned her back to the door and out of the moonlight to go to sleep.

XxX

Inuyasha lay back in his black leather chair, causing the back to recline. He closed his eyes and groaned, dragging his hand down his face while doing so. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to get a hold of his demonic side that had decided to make an appearance just minutes ago. Releasing his hands from his face, he looked over at the ruined black leather couch, and then glanced at his hands, which were curled up to resist the temptation of transforming again to ruin another piece of furniture.

He knew he was avoiding her. It had been three days since he last saw Kagome, though he had sent for Jakotsu, one of his interns, to go and get her medical records for him to take a look at yesterday. He glanced down at the copy of records, which were still in his hands from the take-over of his inner demon and sighed.

After testing his voice a few times to make sure the metallic snarl from the transformation was gone, he picked up the phone from off his desk and punched in a few numbers that he had grown to memorize.

"Hello, this is the Maintenance Office. How may I help you?" A familiar voice answered his call.

"Hey, Yuka. It's me." Inuyasha scratched his head in embarrassment as he had a feeling she probably already knew why he was calling.

"Inuyasha!" The hair demon's voice turned flirtatious, "Hey, baby, what's up?"

Cringing at her term of endearment, he cleared his throat before answering, "I need to order a new couch for my office. Can you have the same one I have now delivered tomorrow?"

He could almost hear her pout, "Aw, again? But this is the what, fifth, sixth time? What have you been doing to all of those other couches?"

"Sorry. They just seem to be weaker than I expected." He half-lied; he knew that when his demonic side awakened, a leather couch was no match for his strength. He had learned not to expect anything from furniture companies anymore.

"Well, I'm not sure I can order another one for you...Boss is giving me strict orders not to let you buy any more "unnecessary items", which, he specifically said, included your couch."

Snapping back a growl, he cursed his grandfather silently before deciding that it was time to turn on his charm, "Ah, but I'm sure you can slip in just one order for me without his noticing...right? I mean, a couch isn't just some "unnecessary item"; there are many, many uses for a couch." He deliberately left his suggestion hanging before whispering, with a slight smirk on his face, "Right, _Yuka_?"

He felt her struggle against his power before subduing, "Once you get your new couch, I hope you can show me some of the _uses _that you have in mind." Her doubtful tone turned provocative as she blew kisses into the phone. "Tell me if you have any problems tomorrow," she said promptly before hanging up, not allowing him to butt in a single word of protest.

Inuyasha slammed the phone back down onto the receiver and shuddered in fear. Although the true playboy side of him, which he had hidden for years behind the façade of a smartass doctor, came naturally, he still needed to work on remembering how to avoid such horrid suggestions.

Glancing at the clock above, he quickly threw on his white lab coat and grabbed some books and a clipboard before hastily leaving the office.

XxX

Kagome heard the door slide open gently and then close again with equal strength. Grumbling, she turned over onto her stomach and closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep that had been deprived of her for the last few nights. She buried her head into the pillow and groaned, unable to ignore all of the noise the older people were making. "Ugh, just kill me now!" She cried in frustration.

"Actually, I'm here to make sure that you _don't _die. Or get killed, for that matter." A hand lifted her sheets gently off of her head and shook her shoulders. "Come on, Kagome. It's time to start your treatment."

Turning, Kagome's grouchy face became astonished as she flipped over to see her doctor looming over her, "Inuya-Wait, what did you just say?" She leaned in closer, so that their faces were nearly touching. "What did you say?"

Inuyasha didn't let his face show how much their positions made him uncomfortable, "I said, it's time for your treatment. I asked Sango to get some scans and x-rays of you so that I could see what the problem was. Which, as you know, is leukemia. So now, I think that treatm-"

"You're going to give me treatment?" Kagome's face remained shocked, her eyes widening so far that he was afraid that she'd need to visit the optometrist next. "As in, you're not going to send me away? You can help me?"

Inuyasha frowned, confused, "Of course. I'm a doctor, and this is a hospital. It's kind of what we do."

She blinked a few times before sliding back down onto the bed and allowing the smartass remark to slide, "But I have leukemia."

"Which is what I just stated thirty seconds ago." A seed of annoyance was beginning to sprout. "Do you repeat everything everyone says? We need to start treatment now, if you want to live. According to your scans, it seems like you've been showing the symptoms for quite a while now, so the "watchful waiting" part is already done." After realizing that she wasn't going to move, he grabbed her arm and steered her out of the room, towards the room where the treatment would take place.

Some took more than a stare at the strange scene, but most were too busy with their own lives and work to take a second glance. Inuyasha paid no attention to the onlookers and continued to pull and unresponsive Kagome into the white room. After a few seconds of struggling to open the door with one hand (his clipboard was tucked underneath his arm), he managed to get her inside and seated on the bed.

Closing the door, he busied himself in getting the supplies ready for the injection that would happen soon. After making sure that nothing was out of place, he grabbed his clipboard and sat down on the circular cushy chair on wheels, spinning around to face Kagome. Noting that she hadn't said a word since they had left her room, he snapped his fingers in front of her face to make her look at him.

"Are you alright?" Guilt was a feeling that he was not used to. He tried to sound as sincere as he felt, though he wasn't sure how much sincerity was actually heard.

She gave him a blank look, "What's going to happen to me now?"

Worried by her poker face, but determined to do his job, he replied, "Well, I'm going to ask you a few questions about your age and current conditions, like if you are sick with a cold, and then measure your weight and height. After that, I'm going to go get the oncologist that I've assigned to you, who will give you the injection for chemotherapy, which will hopefully help you."

Kagome raised her eyebrows, "Why can't you do it?"

A strange feeling gripped his heart and gave it a squeeze. _What is this? _He cleared his throat, "I'm not specialized in chemotherapy- though I _am _knowledgeable and qualified to treat cancers- so I assumed that you might be more comfortable with a doctor who knew more about chemotherapy. But," he couldn't help but give her his famous smirk, "I guess that may not have been the case." Though he was initially shocked at having unconsciously letting his true side escape his perfect smartass doctor mask, her reaction made him wipe those thoughts clean.

A blush fought its way towards Kagome's cheeks, but she forced it back, "No, no, no, it's fine. I don't mind a different doctor."

Inuyasha kept smirking, momentarily dropping his eyes to pick up his clipboard and pen before meeting hers again. "Well, I suppose we should get started on the questions then." He scanned the page for the first query. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-four years old."

"Blood type?"

"O Positive"

"Last time you had a check-up?"

"Hmm...Maybe six months ago?"

"Favorite food?"

"Hamburger."

"Favorite place to eat?"

"Starbuc- Wait, what does this have to do with chemotherapy?" Kagome narrowed her eyes in suspicion before she leaned in. "Are you trying to hit on me?" All those thoughts about him being a doctor with good intentions went out the window. _My god, he's just another pathetic guy trying to hit on his patients. _Kagome groaned, _Out of all the doctors, why do I have to have _him _as my doctor?_

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "In your dreams, wench. I just need to make sure that you aren't taking in too many, um, artificials before the treatment." Before Kagome could respond, Inuyasha quickly pointed to the scale in the corner, "Get on that so I can measure your weight and height."

Kagome slid off the bed reluctantly after giving him an apprehensive look. She took off her sneakers and mounted the scale, making sure to stay still as she waited for him to adjust the weights on the bar above. As she straightened her shorts, a sudden thought occurred to her. "Hey, can I borrow one of your phones?"

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows as he fixed the scale so that the weight balanced evenly on the bar. "A phone? What for?"

She fidgeted a little more with her shorts before answering, "It's been about three or four days since I've come to this hospital, so I think I should give my family a call. They'll probably be wondering where I am...Plus, I need new clothes."

His eyebrows almost reached his hairline, "You're twenty-four and you still live with your parents?"

She blushed a deep red, "No! Of course not! But I was on vacation at my family's house when I was dragged here, so I'm still supposed to be there."

Though Kagome couldn't see, Inuyasha's lips curved slightly upwards at her joyous tone when mentioning her family. "Well, luckily for you, I already had the Head Nurse, Sango, call your parents and explain everything while you were resting. We figured that we could explain what was going to happen along with the reason why you were here better than you, so we made the call instead of you. Oh, and as for the clothes," His eyes secretly raked her body, "We can have new ones arranged for you here, so you don't have to risk hurting the cycle of the treatment to get clothes." He glanced at her from the side, "If you want, you can still call them yourself and explain."

Kagome found that she couldn't tear her gaze away from his searing golden eyes. "N-no, that's fine. Thank you."

He gave a rough gruff before glancing at the bar, "Fifty-four kilograms," He stated before teasing her, "I can see where all of those hamburgers have gone."

"What? I am _not _heavy!" Kagome hotly protested before turning around so he could measure her height. "Many twenty-four year old women are heavier than fifty-four kilos!"

"Mhm." He brought down the metal bar on top of her head and checked to see how many centimeters it lined up to. "One hundred fifty-eight centimeters. Alright, Shorty, you can get off now."

"I'm not sho-" Kagome tried to deny her new nickname but was cut off by Inuyasha unraveling the cord for the blood pressure machine and wrapping the Velcro around her arm. His clawed hand felt warm and rough on her smooth skin and sent shivers up her spine. Finding herself unable to move her arm, she sat quietly. They waited in silence until the monitor beeped, signaling that the test was done.

Inuyasha gave her a smile after recording the information, "I'm going to go get your oncologist. He has all of your medical records, and I'll give him the information I just recorded, so don't worry about if you think he doesn't know the correct amount of treatment you should receive. I'll be right back with him." He left the room, the door softly clicking shut behind him.

Kagome breathed out a sigh she didn't know she had been holding. _What was _that _just now? Did I catch a cold or something? Is that why I had the shivers when his warm hand pressed against me? Unless….Of course! Pssshh! That was so stupid of me not to realize! I was just cold, and he happened to be warm! _Relieved that the reason was made clear, Kagome laid back down on the bed. As she turned to her side, she slowly became cognizant of her situation. _I'm going to undergo chemotherapy. The chemical that I saw on TV that miraculously cures so many victims of cancer! I might actually have a chance at living a little longer! _Unable to contain her happiness, a small smile began slowly spreading its way across Kagome's face. _A life with no restrictions of health! _

Although she knew that pushing all of her expectations onto a treatment that possibly might not even work could hurt her very badly should something go wrong, one of the things that leukemia had taught Kagome was to live life in the moment. And that was how she had been living for the past seven years of her life. Thinking about that made Kagome's smile grow rueful. _Ah, it's been already seven years, huh? I can't say that I haven't been using those seven years to my advantage, but I wish I could have more time. More time. _She closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders. _Well, if all goes well, I _will _have more time. God of chemotherapy, _she prayed, _please let this work. Please give me more time to live my life to the fullest. _

"Hmm? What's this? Is my patient already passed out?" A gentle voice full of laughter entered the room.

"Keh. Wow, I can't believe that she's already asleep; I only left her two minutes ago. I'll wake her up." Inuyasha's voice grew closer as he put a hand on her shoulder and shook her roughly. "Oi, your oncologist is here. Wake up."

Kagome cracked an eye open to glare at Inuyasha's face just centimeters away from her face. "I'm awake, and have been awake since you've left, Dr. Know-It-All." She sat up and saw another man with short black hair and pale gray eyes smiling down at her.

His guarded gray eyes disguised the surprise that he had felt when he saw Inuyasha use his normal language with people instead of the polite tongue that he had become accustomed to. Surprise struck him again when the girl replied in a tone that gave off the impression that they had known each other for years, though from what he knew, they had barely known each other for a week.

"Hello, Miss Higurashi. My name is Dr. Suikotsu, and I was asked by Dr. Takahashi here to give you chemotherapy for the next few weeks to see how you do." He bowed, "I hope we can cure your cancer."

Kagome smiled, "Yes, me too! Th-thank you very much for doing this, Dr. Suikotsu!"

"Don't worry about it. Now, if you would please sit up on the bed, I will insert an IV in your left arm, where the chemo treatment will flow into your body." He explained seriously before pausing, "But, I think it's only fair that I warn you beforehand. There will be many side effects that come along with the treatment. Some include migraines, vomiting, hair loss, nausea, and severe stomach aches. The reaction of the body is different with every patient, so I'm sorry to say that I'm not sure if you will suffer all of these side effects, some, or others that I haven't mentioned. But this is the price for a possible recovery for leukemia. Dr. Takahashi here," He motioned over to Inuyasha, who stood with a stoic look on his face, "seems set on having you undergo chemotherapy, but it is your body, so I always give my patients a choice before giving them the treatment. Would you still like to undergo chemotherapy, Miss Higurashi?"

Everything was coming at her too fast. New information just kept flinging at her, all trying to cram inside of her head all at once. "Um, can I still eat normal food after the treatment?" With the inside of her head in a mess, she blurted out the first thing she could think of.

"Normal food?" Dr. Suikotsu cocked his head to the side, "I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about."

"Ah, I mean like..." Kagome paused to take a quick glance at Inuyasha before continuing, "Hamburgers? Can I eat those?"

Inuyasha stifled his snort with a cough, which did not escape Kagome's peripheral vision. She glared at him before turning back to Dr. Suikotsu, her expression almost pleading. "Those are fine, right?"

The oncologist laughed heartily, "Well, I'm not sure. Maybe. It all depends on how your body reacts to the chemo, so for the first part, let's lay off of the patties, okay?"

"Keh, only you would ask about food at a time like this, wench." Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he handed Dr. Suikotsu the supplies for the chemo. "Oh," He paused in his preparations, "You _are _going to take chemo, right?"

Two pairs of eyes rested upon Kagome's face as she nodded happily, "Yes. I want to take chemotherapy, so I can finally live a life without the stress of leukemia. I can suffer through the consequences, if it means that my cancer will be cured."

Dr. Suikotsu granted her an affable smile before maneuvering over to her side and pouring the treatment into a bag connected to a syringe. He filled up the bag and wheeled it over towards the bed, tapping on the IV. "I'm going to insert this inside of your arm now. The IV holds the chemotherapy treatment, so it'll have to be in there for a little while, but rest assured, you will not feel much pain."

She nodded and bravely stuck her arm out for him to inject the IV with. Though she winced when the needle entered her skin, she found that Dr. Suikotsu's words held true; there was only a small buzz of pain hovering around the small of skin on her arm. Trying to steering her focus away from the needle to avoid any more unnecessary pain, she looked to her right, only to be met with an empty room.

"Where did Inuyasha go?" She asked without thinking.

"Inuyash-? Hmm...Oh, he stepped out of the room to give you some room. Normally, patients prefer not to be watched over when getting treatment, so he went off to do some other work that he has to do." Dr. Suikotsu watched Kagome's reaction carefully as he monitored the liquid that was flowing into her.

"Oh." Kagome felt a pang of disappointment echo through her chest before scolding herself. _Obviously he's gone off to do other work! It's not like you're his only_ _patient or anything special that holds some meaning to him! Stop being so conceited!_

**(A/N Note that it usually takes a few hours or so to undergo this treatment, so we're just going to skip all of that~)**  
**  
**XxX

"Thank you very much, Dr. Suikotsu." Kagome bowed unsteadily as she exited the room.

He caught her elbow and helped lead her just outside of the door and bowed in return, "No problem, Miss Higurashi. I hope to see you next time in three days. Please don't hesitate to contact me, Dr. Takahashi, or any of the nurses if you feel unwell. It's best not to hold in any of those feelings right now, as we need to see how your body is reacting to the treatment." He straightened and gave her a stern look, tightening his hold on her elbow, "I mean it. I'll have Inuyasha check up on you everyday just to make sure."

Kagome sweat-dropped at the sudden character change, "Um, okay." She grinned gratefully, "Thank you again!"

He smiled and released her, departing with a friendly wave. She waved back as she watched his figure disappear in the bustle of people. Sighing half in relief, half in dread for the side effects that were sure to be coming, she turned back to return to her room, only to be met with a hard chest.

"Oi, watch where you're going, wench!" Inuyasha's handsome face was molded into one of annoyance, his long white hair swishing behind him.

"Wench?" Kagome glared at him, though through her dizziness, she could only hope that she had glared in the right place. "Okay, I let you off twice when you called me that, but what are we in, the Edo Period? My name is Ka-go-me! NOT "wench"!" Before she could say anymore, her wooziness overcame her, and she crumpled to the floor, only to have strong arms catch her from underneath.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's worried voice rang through her head, "Oh, shi- Already? Hang in there, Kagome. It's just one of the side effects of chemo. You'll be fine."

His voice was too loud, bouncing around in the already chaotic mess inside of her mind. "Shut up," Kagome's weak voice ordered him, "Shut up and take me to a bed. You talk too much." With that, the last of her consciousness slipped away and her body fell slack.

He froze for a second, surprised and shocked before cracking up. People turned to stare as he doubled over laughing, though taking great care not to drop Kagome's limp body. At last, when his laughs died down, he gazed fondly at the woman in his arms before snapping out of it, shaking his head in a dog-like manner. He yielded her a momentarily genuine smile before twisting it into his infamous playboy smirk. _This one's going to be a fun one to take care of for sure. _He traced a finger along the side of her face, "Kagome Higurashi. How are you going to surprise me next?"

Kagome: O.o WTH! Am I a toy for a playboy or what? I thought he was a caring doctor...

Inuyasha: Keh. Who's caring?

Lei: I just want to note that "watchful waiting" is the time when doctors observe their patient's condition for a while before giving any treatment. Oh, and an oncologist is a medical doctor who specializes in the treatment/diagnosis of cancer.

Inuyasha: *hits on her head* Is that all you're going to say!

Lei: -_-" ALSO, not all of the information in the Fanfiction is true, so please ignore it if some of the details seem strange!

Kagome: Please review! ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

Lei: Hey, guys! First off, Happy New Year! Thanks so much for all of your reviews and support! I'm so sorry that it's taken so long for this chapter to come out! I swear, it was not done intentionally or out of laziness; I really was super busy and ideas just wouldn't flow as easily as it normally does.  
Inuyasha: …You're acting like such a hotshot for an amateur *rolls eyes*  
Lei: *narrows eyes* Back off, or I can go back and change what's going to happen in the end.  
Inuyasha: NO! My Kagome!  
Kagome: Excuse me, but I am NO ONE'S Kagome!  
Lei: Except for Rumiko Takahashi's! All of the characters in this story belong to her!

**~Seventeen Minutes~**

_She is just a patient. Sure, a patient who's fun to tease, but still just a patient. She is just a patient. _Inuyasha recited the sentences like a mantra inside of his head. He tried to repress his feelings of _extreme _worry and from growing inside of him as he watched Kagome undergo different scans of the body to see how the chemotherapy was affecting her. These scans were nothing new to him; he had many patients before Kagome who were diagnosed with cancer and had undergone the same procedures as her, but strangely, none of them had managed to incite these feelings within. Even Kikyo.

_Kikyo. _His heart lurched and started to pound, but not with the love that he had once thought that he had held for her. Sensing that an all too familiar feeling was about to arise, he tried to steer his thoughts away, watching Kagome lie down on the bed and close her eyes, her hair spreading out from behind her in wild waves. Without thinking about it, a small smile touched his lips, though he quickly hid it behind a smirk when Kagome got up.

But he couldn't hide the beating of his heart when she gave him a brilliant smile in return. She mouthed, _Am I done? _He raised his eyebrows and shook his head. His smirk grew wider at her disappointed face. Raising a finger, he pointed to her, then towards himself, and then to the door on her side. She nodded her head to show her understanding and hopped off of the bed, thanking everyone before exiting through the door.

Inuyasha faced his interns in the room, "We are now going to go on to the fourth scanning center of the lungs to make sure that her ribs are sturdy, as it is not unusual to see the bones in the ribs failing due to the loss of red and now white blood cells from the chemo." He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at them, causing a wave of shivers to run down their spines, "I hope you all have been taking notes that will help in the research and treatment of leukemia for the future." He especially seemed to be giving one particular young man a cold stare. "Shippo! You especially! Don't think that you can just slack off because you've been lingering in the back!"

Shippo, a small fox demon with caramel-colored hair, gave Inuyasha an equally icy look. "What? I've been taking more notes than anyone else!" He pouted, shaking his clipboard up in protest, "Why are you always picking on me, Inuyasha!?"

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows, "That's _Dr. Takahashi _to you, intern. I only single you out because you're the only one that never does any work." He turned his back on a furious fox demon and waved his hand forwards, "Let's go."

Some patted Shippo on the back sympathetically as they followed Inuyasha and made their way out of the observation room. The fox demon fumed in anger before slowly taking a deep breath and stalking out of the room. "I'm only an intern for the summer. I'm only an intern for the summer. After this summer, I'll never have to see his ugly smug face for the rest of my life." Shippo chanted as he followed his fellow interns.

XxX

Kagome bounced up to Inuyasha, "Am I all finished?" The hopeful look in her eyes looked so genuine that Inuyasha had to fight the urge to look away.

"Uh, yeah." He cleared his throat, "For today, at least, you're done with scans." Just thinking about how Kagome's face would be scrunched up in annoyance, her eyebrows knitting together and her small lips twisted in a pout, due to putting up with all of the scans and the procedures that went with it brought a smirk to Inuyasha's face. _How cute. _He opened his mouth to finish answering her question when he realized what he had just thought. _Cute?! _Mentally smacking himself, his thoughts ran wild. _Cute!? _

"Once you get treated with chemo regularly, you'll need to have scans done on you the second day after the treatment." He shook his head and tore his thought away from his terrifyingly girly confession. He opened his mouth again to add more details, but one look at Kagome's face told him that something bigger was troubling her. "What's wrong?" Worry seeped into his voice like streams of polluted water before he had time to build a dam. "Are the side effects still bothering you?"

Kagome didn't notice the change in his tone. She shook her head. "No, I'm fine now. But..." She gave the tiniest shake of her head, shoving her thoughts aside before turning away, "Would it be alright if I go to the cafe before I head down to my room?" As Inuyasha was about to refuse her, saying that rest was best right now, Kagome's head flipped up, and she gazed at him with pleading eyes.

Averting his eyes quickly from her beseeching hazel orbs, he took in a deep breath and cursed himself silently before glancing at his watch. "Do what you want. Be back before three o'clock." Meeting her questioning eyes, he snapped, "You have four hours! It'll be troublesome for me if you stay out longer than that when you're going to have treatment tomorrow."

He stretched out his foot to take a step when he remembered something crucial, "And no coffee. You can have bread and non-caffeinated tea, but no coffee. Caffeine can affect how your body reacts to the treatment." He walked away towards the other patients' wards, becoming one with the bustling crowd in the hall.

Kagome frowned, "Geez, what's he so touchy about?" She mumbled under her breath as she headed towards the cafe she had seen earlier on in the hospital. "It's not like I drink coffee anyways. Idiot dog-eared doctor." She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that a tall doctor reading notes on a clipboard was heading towards her.

Papers flew as they collided into each other. "Ouch!" A deep voice rumbled above her. Kagome looked up to see a handsome wolf doctor rub his shoulder where they had banged into each other. His lips were twisted into a grimace as his clear blue eyes peered down at her, his long black hair tied back in a ponytail swishing as he did so.

Her eyes widened as she quickly bowed and apologized. "I'm sorry!" Her hands reached out to his hurt shoulder, "Are you okay?" Warm hands met hers before they could touch his shoulder.

He grinned, "How could I be hurt after meeting an angel like you?" He grasped one of her hands and brought it up to his lips, taking a gallant bow at the same time, "Are you hurt at all, Miss?"

Kagome's mouth dropped open as she took in the turn of events. She yanked her hand out of his. "I-I'm fine!" She hesitated, "Are you sure you're okay?"

The man flashed his pearly whites again, "Well, if you really want to know, I'm sore on the shoulder that you slammed into and would really like some ice." His expression remained pleasant, causing the words flying out of his mouth seem even more demanding than if he had snarled them at her. "Oh, and some coffee would be _great_, to even out the cold of the ice!" He looked down at Kagome expectantly, "Well, what are you going to do? Now that you've heard what I wanted, aren't you going to fetch me the items I want? Because, after all, you _did _bump into me and hurt my shoulder." He paused, "Or are you going to just leave me here?"

Kagome's surprised face rapidly became one of disgust. "What?" She snorted, "Are you a king or something? _Fetch_?! Are you kidding me? Get them yourself. It's not like I injured your foot or anything." _Great, I've met another stupid demon doctor, _Kagome groaned internally with exasperation.

He raised an eyebrow, "Hmm, interesting. Usually, my angels immediately fly away to grant my wishes." He bent down so he was level with Kagome's eyes, "Which heaven did you fall from that makes you so different from the others?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "The one that hates devil playboys from hell." She side-stepped him to head towards the cafe, only to have him reappear in front of her, halting her movement.

He registered her surprise with delight and granted her a smirk, "Well, Angel, you might hate me, but you still owe me a coffee at least, if not an ice pack." Before she could protest, he linked his arm with hers and began walking towards the cafe, "Besides, I bet you were about to come here anyways, no?"

There was nothing Kagome could say as she was pulled along to the cafe. He sat her down at an empty table and turned so he could face her. "I'm going to go get us some coffee, which you'll pay for by the way, so just sit right there, 'kay Angel?" Before she could make a sound, he disappeared into the line of people waiting for their orders to be taken.

Stunned at the events that had just taken place, she laid back in her chair as others took notice and whispered around her.

"Oh my gosh, was that THE Dr. Ookami?!"

"No way! But I hear he hardly ever makes appearances other than for his patients! And those meetings are private!"

"Why would he be sitting at a cafe with _her_?! "

"What a shame! The brilliant, hot, athletic Dr. Ookami finally comes out and has to be with _her._"

Kagome snorted quietly, "Dr. Ookami? Brilliant and hot? The only thing brilliant about him is his ability to not gag while dishing out those cheesy pick-up lines." She stood up and made a move to leave, but a warm hand pushed her back down. Glancing up, she saw Dr. Ookami's figure towering over her and made a face, "You're back."

He chuckled as he dragged the chair back, causing an ear-splitting screeching noise to resonate in his sensitive wolf ears. Wincing, he sat down and set the coffees on the table. His blue eyes regarded her curiously as he pushed one of the cups towards her. "Go ahead. You can pay me back once you're done." He sipped his own coffee and leaned back, "Of course, for both of the coffees."

Kagome gritted her teeth as she pushed the coffee back. "Sorry, I don't drink coffee." She opened her mouth to say something, but to Dr. Ookami's amusement, she glanced around at the gossiping audience they had surrounding them before promptly clamping her mouth shut. Instead, she reached over the table, grabbed a napkin and swiped a pen from her pocket, quickly scribbling something down before folding it and sliding it over towards him. She glared at him and said in a low dark voice, "Don't ever come near me again, playboy. I'm not your toy." After shooting one of her most evil glares, she left the cafe with an air of annoyance.

Dr. Ookami watched amusedly as the first woman who had ever left him disappeared from his sight. He took another sip of coffee, ignoring all the buzz spreading around him. Leaning over the table, he grabbed the folded napkin she had written on and opened it carefully. Written in bold black ink were the letters "Go to Hell". Laughing outright, he slipped the napkin into his white lab coat.

"Angel," He asked the air around him after he finally stopped laughing, "How am I supposed to stay away from you when you have a debt to repay?"

XxX

Kagome huffed as she stalked down the hallway to her room, "Who does he think he is, that playboy?! '_You owe me a coffee because you bumped into me.'" _She mimicked him in a high-pitched voice, "Psh. He bumped into me, not the other way around!" Groaning with frustration she pulled at her hair, "Ugh! I don't even know why I said sorry in the first place!" As she slid the door to the room open, a slight frown spread across her face. "Thanks to him, I couldn't even buy the bread that was up on display yesterday at the cafe."

"Bread?" A small man with caramel hair and bewitching green eyes focused his gaze on her. "You went all the way to the best cafe in the hospital for bread?" Disbelief colored his features, "If you're going to go there, of course the candy is the best thing to buy!"

Blinking, Kagome stared at the man dressed in a white lab coat, who was standing at the foot of her bed. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?" She tried to rack her brains for anyone who fit his appearance, but no one came up.

The man shook his head, "Nope." He stuck out his hand, "I'm Shippo, one of Dr. Takahashi's interns. He sent me to check up on Totosai," Shippo pointed at her sleeping neighbor, "But since he's asleep, I guess there's nothing for me to do." He smiled cheekily, as though it was some kind of inside joke. He turned towards Kagome, "You're the one with leukemia, right? I was one of the interns who watched you get your treatment with Inu- Dr. Takahashi."

"Oh." Kagome smiled, "Nice to meet you, Shippo. I'm Kagome Higurashi." She grabbed his hand at his side and shook it enthusiastically, "Finally, I meet a doctor today who's not an idiot nor a jerk!"

Shippo blushed, "I'm not officially a doctor yet, Miss Higurashi."

Kagome grinned, "Just Kagome is fine. 'Miss Higurashi' reminds me of my mother." They smiled at each other for a second more before a thunderous noise sounded in Shippo's stomach. Both of them froze as another similar noise echoed from where Kagome was standing.

Shippo laughed sheepishly and scratched his head, "Sorry; I haven't had lunch yet."

Kagome patted her stomach, "I'm starving; do you want to go the cafe with me?" She grabbed her wallet from off of the bedside counter, "I'll pay."

A couple of minutes later, Kagome found out just exactly how dangerous those words were. She watched as he scarfed down three sandwiches before starting on the order of extra large french fries. She knew that she should be disgusted, but she could only see him as a poor starving little boy who had no money for food. Feelings of compassion overflowed as she pushed a large cup of soda towards him, which he slurped up in less than a minute. Chewing on her warm focaccia bread, she wondered worriedly if death by inhalation of food was possible.

"Th-thanks so much for doing this, Kagome." Shippo choked on his fries as he tried to get his words of appreciation out. "Thanks to you, even if Inuyasha were to see me, I could just say that you wanted company, as a patient.." His tail flicked up like a dog as he grinned.

Taken by his boyish smile, she laughed, "How old are you, Shippo?"

He gulped down another chug of soda, "Nineteen. Why?" He swirled a long french fry into his mountain of ketchup before popping it into his mouth.

She clasped her hands together, "You are just too darn adorable!" Reaching over, she placed her hands on his shoulders, "Shippo, if you ever need anything while I'm here, tell me right away."

Bewildered by her sudden request, he blinked and cocked his head, "Um...what?"

Kagome waved her hand impatiently, "You know, food, drinks, company, love advice and all that!" Her face softened, "You remind me of my little brother, Souta. He would have been nineteen too." Her tone grew bitter before she cleared her throat and smiled, "I'll be your advisor!"

Her change of tone and facial expression did not slip past Shippo's careful eye, and he watched as she hid her painful expression underneath a fake smile. Understanding that didn't want to talk about it, however, he pretended not to notice. "Psh, yeah right. More like my mom." He crushed his empty paper bags and shot them into the trash can. Digging his hand into his white coat pocket, he fished out his wallet. "I'll pay you back."

Kagome automatically stretched her hand out to stop him, only to grab a fist full of air. He grinned cheekily as he dodged her arm and slipped twenty bucks inside of her wallet, which had somehow ended up in his hands. She gasped in surprise as he tossed her wallet back to her in a fluid motion, "No backs." His dimples grew deeper as he grinned wider, "In return, you can treat me to food and drinks next time, as well as keep me company and give me love advice." Kagome couldn't help but smile as he quoted her. He waved and spun around, heading off to the left, "Thanks, Mom."

Kagome blinked at the title before a soft smile spread slowly across her face. She waved at his back and watched as he rounded the corner. Sighing happily, she left her arms fall down by her waist, "What a sweet kid."

"Kagome?" Inuyasha's rough voice was tinged with surprise as he came to a stop in front of the cafe doors. He followed Kagome's eye and saw the end of Shippo's tail disappear. What was he doing here?

"Hmm?" Kagome reluctantly turned to see Inuyasha standing with his arms crossed. "What?"

He stood there for a few moments before tapping his watch, eyebrows raised, "Kagome, what time is it?"

She glanced at the clock above the cafe, "Three-thirty." Puzzled, she turned back to him and opened her mouth, "Wha- Oh." She remembered her four hour limitation that had been set. "I, uh...I wasn't here for four and a half hours! Really!" She added after seeing his skeptical face.

Inuyasha eyed her suspiciously before sniffing the air around her, "You didn't drink coffee, did you?"

She made a disbelieving face, "You don't trust me? Pah," Kagome let out a short breath, "And here I thought that doctors and patients could trust each other." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

He rolled his eyes and smirked, making his way towards her, "Trust? Why should I trust someone who claims not to have drank coffee when she obviously smells like it?" He leaned down towards the side of her head and whispered softly in her ear, "French roast, my favorite."

She felt the heat flood through her body from the tips of her toes to the hairs on her head. However, before she could reply with a scathing comment that involved his nose and a fire, the one voice she didn't want to hear called back from behind her.

"Hey, Angel!" Groaning as she recognized the voice, she tried to think of all the gods she knew, hoping that with a larger audience one of them might grant her wish. _Please, please, please don't let him come any closer to me! PLEASE! _

A shoulder bumped into hers, "Whatcha doin', Angel? You look like you're constipated or something."

_Thank you, gods, _Kagome thought bitterly. She gave out a sigh and turned around to face him, just as Inuyasha growled in surprise, "Scrawny wolf? What the hell are you doing here?"

Dr. Ookami gave a disgusted snort, "Same goes to you, Mutt-face."

"HUH!?" Inuyasha snarled before he gave a smug smile, "I'm Kagome's DOCTOR." He grabbed Kagome's shoulders and yanked her towards him, "Why are YOU here?"

Dr. Ookami's eyes widened, and he gasped as he looked into Kagome's eyes, "Angel, Mutt-face is your doctor?" He turned his head away, placing his hand over his heart, "I'm hurt."

Kagome and Inuyasha both gave half a gasp ("WHA-?!") and opened their mouths at the same time to reply, but Kagome beat him to it, "In the head?! What's wrong with you? I TOLD you not to come near me again! Are you deaf as well as stupid?"

Both stared blankly at Kagome for a few moments before Inuyasha bursted into laughter, "Beat THAT, Kouga." He chuckled some more and squeezed Kagome tightly, "Nice one, Kags."

Kagome turned her glare to Inuyasha, "Kags? It's KA-GO-ME. And get off me!" She shrugged her shoulders out of his grasp.

Kouga scowled, "Shut up, Inuyasha. You may be her doctor, but I had a date with Kagome at the cafe today." He grinned, "Right, Angel?" That shut Inuyasha up.

His eyes widened as he looked down incredulously at Kagome, "Really? You did? Why!? Are you crazy?!"

Kagome scoffed, "Are you serious? One look at this guy and I knew that he was a major playboy. Why would I go out with him?" Noticing Inuyasha's proud smirk, she added, "Not that you're much better, _Yash._"

The two demons both frowned as she rubbed her temples soothingly, "And here I thought one of the bonuses to being around guys was less drama." She jammed her hand into her pocket and came back up with her wallet. She counted out five notes and thrust them out to Kouga, "Here. Now don't bother me again. I'm sure you can find a place to get some ice by yourself, at least." She exhaled an exasperated sigh before turning around and heading back to her room, muttering about petty men.

Inuyasha glared at Kouga, "Back off, you sorry excuse for a demon. Kagome's _mine._" He was surprised by the words tumbling out of his mouth and the ferocious snarl that followed, but Kouga remained unfazed.

"We'll see about that. She doesn't seem to like you very much, _Yash_, so it doesn't seem like it will be too much trouble to convince her to, let's say," Kouga's mouth twisted up slightly at the corners, "switch sides."

The air was suddenly full of electricity as both doctors glowered at each other with hatred, their fists clenched strongly by their sides.

"That won't happen," Inuyasha promised, his mind racing as he processed the possibility of handing Kagome over to that bastard. Kouga only seduced women; Inuyasha had never known him to ever have a solid relationship with one girl before. He couldn't, no wouldn't let Kagome face that kind of treatment. His fist twitched at the thought of Kagome getting hurt by Kouga and his careless swoon-inducing words.

Inuyasha didn't wait for Kouga to respond before following Kagome's retreating back, snarling once more for good measure. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to protect this fiery-tempered girl, but he knew that there was no way in hell he was going to let Kouga snatch her up while he was alive.

Lei: Well, I hoped you enjoyed the extra-long chapter there!  
Kagome: You totally owed it to your readers anyway.  
Lei: ^_^" Ahaha...I know I just posted this chapter up, and while I really want to get back to writing more chapters, I have midterms coming up in about two weeks. So, I won't be able to post anything for a little while. *cringes* Please bear with me!  
Inuyasha: Jerk.  
Kagome: Traitor.  
Lei: T^T I promise that I'll have something up in honor of Valentine's Day (though it might be a little late)! Please review and tell me what you think!


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